DIY Recycled Headboard

My daughter has a queen-sized bed without a headboard, and we’ve been looking at DIY options for making your own, preferably as a weekend project. There are tons of creative headboard ideas out there, but here’s some our favorites:

Shown here is a recycled Mantel Headboard, by Niesz Vintage Home, with step-by-step photos that show you how to refurbish an old wooden mantel into a one-of-a-kind headboard. The opening is filled with a sheet of plywood, cut to fit, then padded with foam and batting, and covered with pretty fabric.

Better Homes and Gardens, of course, has a wonderful selection of 29 DIY headboard ideas, from the sleek drama of these three hollow-core doors, stacked horizontally; to a variety of upholstered headboards; budget-conscious burlap upholstered plywood; and this shabby-chic treatment using recycled shutters.

If you don’t happen to have any unused shutters, check out garage sales to pick some up at bargain prices.

I especially like the clean, whitewashed appeal of the BHG picket fence headboard – perfect for a girl’s bedroom or for an indoor garden decorating touch at the cottage. However, the picket fence headboard is not a recycling project, being made from stock picket fencing from a home building center. It would be even better if you could make it from some leftover fencing or discarded pickets.

If you prefer a more personal touch, try turning a gallery of your favorite photos into a faux headboard. This look is pulled together by mounting copied photos in matching black frames.

Although it’s not a headboard, this simple canopy, made from PVC pipe and a pair of twin sheets sewn into a single strip, looks fabulous behind the bed.

You can make your own faux headboards from wallpaper, pasted on a board, which is then mounted behind the bed. Or you can paste a rectangle of wallpaper directly to the wall above the bed and frame it, either with a mitred wallpaper border or some inexpensive wood moldings.

Mount a curtain rod on the wall, and suspend pretty curtains above the bed, or use it to hang a quilt, a textured rug, needlework, tapestry or another textile.

If space is an issue, suspend shelves in the headboard area; use the lower shelf instead of a night table to hold a small lamp and alarm clock.

Measure the width of your bed and buy a piece of wood cut to fit from your local DIY store. Pad the piece of wood with felt or batting, then upholster with fabric. Stretch the fabric over the padding and attach it to the board at the back with a staple gun or upholstery tacks. As you work around the wood, take care to keep the fabric taut over the front. Attach your new headboard to the wall behind the bed. Enjoy!

I’m sure there are tons of other options — so if you have a great headboard idea, please share!